I Spy
by sushigirlali
Summary: Ben has done everything he can to protect Rey from the First Order, but getting caught was never part of the plan. [Reylo] [ReyBen]


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Wars or anything that relates to Star Wars.

 **Rating:** T

 **Continuity:** Post TLJ

 **A/N:** This one-shot is dedicated to the great Saboteur!Kylo exchange between luminoustunes and reyl-hoe over on Tumblr. THIS GOT SUPER LONG! So, I'm posting it as its own thing, instead of with my on-going drabbles (which y'all should totally check out!). The EPIX speculation has only just begun, but I'm loving all the alternative scenarios people are throwing out. Do you guys have any?

 **Special Thanks:** KnightLawn / Thwarted Normal / I like pandas and stuff / MidnightRose2000 / Mvltihart

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 **I Spy  
By: sushigirlali **

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Ben wiped the sweat from his brow, peering around the next corner carefully. With the exception of two service droids, the corridor was clear. Taking a deep breath, he moved into the long hallway, skimming close to the wall as he approached the hanger bay.

With the latest attack against the Resistance ending in disaster for the First Order, Hux would finally have confirmation of Ben's interference. Knowing that he had limited time to escape the Absolution before Hux tracked him down and had him executed for treason, Ben was making a break for his shuttle.

Coming up to the control room where the flow of traffic in and out of the Star Destroyer was managed, Ben listened at the door intently. Only sensing one person in the room, he quickly darted inside and took control of the young lieutenant's mind.

"You will release the landing clamps on my command shuttle and approve it for immediate takeoff." Ben ordered smoothly, holding out an authoritative hand.

"Yes, sir." His former subordinate said stiffly, bound by the compulsion laced in Ben's statement.

"Ready my starfighter as well." Ben added for good measure. It was always better to have a backup. "And disengage the tractor beam and shield gate while you're at it."

"Yes, sir." He said again.

Ben watched the officer do his bidding for what felt like an eternity, monitoring for activity in the vicinity in the meantime. Sighing in relief once every security measure had been disengaged, Ben knew that if he could just get to one of his ships, he would be home free.

"Sorry about this." Ben muttered, waving a hand over the lieutenant's head so that he slumped into a dreamless sleep. "But I can't have you alerting anyone after I leave."

Cracking the door open again, Ben slipped back into the empty hallway and continued toward the hanger. Stopping to the left of the open blast doors, he covertly surveyed the area. The command shuttle was stationed directly across from him in the officer's wing, untethered and ready for him to pilot, while his TIE silencer was a bit further along with the other starfighters.

Although there were fewer people on this side of the platform, he would still have to cross in front of a fair number of stormtroopers and dock workers to board the shuttle. It would be near impossible to control that many people at once, but Ben had little choice but to go for it.

Hux must have been informed about his betrayal by now, and the lack of alarm was telling. The General had always believed he was smarter than Ben, and was no doubt forming some convoluted plan to capture him instead of just issuing a ship-wide warrant for his arrest.

Ben thought of Rey then, desperate to see her again in case his plan went wrong, but knowing he didn't have the time. The stormtroopers stationed near the officer's vessels would be changing shift soon, giving him a small window of time to cross the hanger bay relatively unnoticed.

If he didn't make it out alive, he hoped she would find out what he had done for her and the Resistance one day. Since taking over as Supreme Leader, Ben had been able to scrap or sabotage every mission the First Order had launched against the rebels, stalling all efforts to track down the woman accused of killing Snoke.

Regretting his hasty words that fateful day on the Supremacy, Ben had been doing his best to protect the woman he loved ever since. Unfortunately, he had showed his hand today when a First Order scout ship literally tripped over the Millennium Falcon while refueling at the Garang Spaceport on the remote planet of Dantooine.

To protect his father's ship, which likely housed both Rey and his mother, Ben had ordered the starship to stand down. But when the captain belligerently refused to give up her tactical advantage over the Resistance's flagship, Ben used his access as Supreme Leader to remotely activate the scout ship's self-destruct system, blasting the vessel clear out of the sky before it could get a shot off.

Having blown his cover in front of the entire bridge crew of the Absolution, Ben knew there was no going back now; his reign as Supreme Leader of the First Order was over.

As the stormtroopers left their posts, Ben forced himself to focus on the task at hand, dashing toward the command shuttle. He made quick work of the distance between him and freedom, but just as he reached up to lower the entrance ramp, Hux's insufferable voice sounded behind him.

"Going somewhere, _Supreme Leader Ren_?" Hux asked nastily.

The thundering of boots filled Ben's ears as an entire regiment of soldiers filed into the docking bay, armed to the teeth with blaster rifles and riot control batons. He could sense their hostility toward him, their thirst for his blood, and knew that Hux must have briefed them about his traitorous actions. It had been a mistake to allow the General so much control over the stormtrooper training program, he realized now.

Ben turned to face his enemy, smirking despite the dire situation. If he had to go down fighting, he was taking Hux with him.

"This is the end, Ren." Hux's eyes narrowed, unnerved by Ben's lack of fear. "There's nowhere left to run, nowhere left to hide."

"Who's hiding?" Ben asked sardonically. "Call off your war dogs and we can settle this once and for all."

"And why would I do that?" Hux replied snidely. "I have an army! They can destroy you for me!"

"Are you really so weak that you would risk the lives of your men instead of facing me yourself?" Ben taunted.

The soldiers shifted uncomfortably at his words, and Ben could tell that Hux was measuring his next statement carefully.

"Tell me, Ren, who really assassinated Supreme Leader Snoke, hmm? Certainly not that desert rat pretending to be a Jedi." Hux skillfully changed the subject. "Still, she'll have to be punished for her interference."

"Leave her out of this!" Ben growled, taking a threatening step forward. "Rey is innocent!"

"So you admit it, then? You admit to murdering our exulted leader?" Hux pressed.

But Ben refused to answer, to give Hux the satisfaction of prying a confession out of him. Unsheathing his crossguard lightsaber, Ben switched it on aggressively.

"Enough talk." Ben sneered. "Let's fight."

Hux hurriedly stepped out of reach, motioning for his men to come forward. Two burly stormtroopers advanced in response, brandishing riot control batons capable of resisting the plasma blade of his lightsaber.

Ben let them come to him, knowing that his superior strength and skill would more than make up for the meager protection their non-lethal weapons offered. Stretching out his senses, he anticipated the first strike of baton against lightsaber, dodging out of the way at the last minute and splitting his enemy's armor down the back.

As his first foe fell to the ground, the second charged forward with a bellow, swinging wildly. Ben parried the clumsy strokes, bringing his lightsaber down hard on the baton. Electricity crackled between the combatants, but Ben didn't flinch, pressing his advantage as the stormtrooper lost his balance.

Pulling his crossguard back, he snapped it forward again, smoothly running his opponent through. Placing a large foot on the man's torso as he slumped, Ben kicked him backward into the crowd. Straightening up, Ben resumed a defensive position, ready for more.

"Kill him!" Hux shouted, looking fearful as his men hesitated. "Someone kill him!"

A third stormtrooper lunged at Ben, knocking him backward with the force of his attack. Ben surged against his adversary, locking their weapons together. Hux's latest champion seemed better trained than the riffraff he had dispatched just moments ago, and Ben struggled to get the upper hand this time.

A sudden shift in the Force distracted Ben for a split second, allowing the stormtrooper to push him back a few paces. Readjusting his grip, Ben shifted slightly under the weight of his opponent's weapon, peering through the unguarded shield gate to receive the shock of his life: Rey piloting Luke's X-wing, hovering just outside the entrance of the hanger bay.

 _"_ _Rey!"_ He exclaimed through their bond, momentarily forgetting about the stormtrooper bearing down on him.

 _"_ _Ben, watch out!"_ Rey warned as a fourth soldier struck at his back.

Sidestepping him on instinct, Ben was barely aware of his two assailants crashing into each other, landing sprawled on the floor at Hux's feet.

 _"_ _You're here."_ He said in awe, eyes fixed on the cockpit.

 _"_ _Of course I am."_ Rey said warmly. _"After what you did on Dantooine, I knew you would be in trouble."_

 _"_ _How did you find me?"_ Ben wondered.

 _"_ _The Force led me to you."_ She whispered gently in his mind.

 _"_ _Rey, I'm—"_ Ben tried.

 _"_ _Ben, I need you to move now."_ Rey interrupted him. _"Take cover behind your shuttle and I'll clear the deck."_

"Rey, wait!" He shouted, surprising the garrison around him.

But she had already zoomed through the gate, opening fire on the stormtroopers surrounding him. Pushing a group of stunned soldiers out of his way, Ben closed his lightsaber and ducked behind the left side of his command ship.

Recovering from his momentary shock at Rey's entrance, Hux ordered his men to open fire on the X-wing. Rey rolled to avoid the oncoming stream of blaster riffle fire, flying out the open shield gate before making a hair pin turn and charging back into the fray.

After catching his breath for a moment, Ben reignited his crossguard and dashed out to help, stealthily taking out enemy after enemy as Rey provided cover. When the turrets stationed on the far side of the deck suddenly opened fire, Rey changed course once again, swerving to deal with the heavier artillery.

 _"_ _Are you okay?"_ Ben asked unnecessarily, cutting his way across the room.

 _"_ _Doing great."_ Rey responded distractedly as she blasted the turrets to pieces with a well-placed proton torpedo. _"You?"_

 _"_ _Never better."_ He panted, swinging his lightsaber with everything he had. _"Now that you're here."_ Ben could see her smile as if she was standing right next to him, giving him the strength to finish off the last of the ground troops pressing in on him.

Within a matter of minutes, Rey had completely decimated the enemy forces on the far side of the docking bay and crippled their starfighters to prevent retaliation.

Running forward as she swung the X-wing around to land on an empty platform in the middle of the hanger, Ben caught her easily as she jumped over the side of her ship and into his awaiting arms. Rey immediately wrapped herself around him, hugging him tightly.

"I was so afraid when the First Order ship blew up at Garang." Rey confessed in a rush, pressing her cheek against his. She seemed unable to get close enough, not that Ben minded.

"I'm sorry, Rey, I didn't mean to frighten you." He apologized. "I ordered the captain to stand down, but she refused. I had to make a split-second decision in order to protect you."

"No, you misunderstand me, Ben." Rey pulled back to cup his face in her small hands. "I was scared because I knew Hux would want your head for it, not because of the explosion."

Hearing that she was afraid _for_ him rather than _of_ him was almost Ben's undoing. "Rey." He whispered achingly, touching his forehead to hers.

"You saved the Resistance, Ben." Rey told him as she lovingly stroked the long scar marking his pale cheek. "We were on Dantooine to negotiate for supplies, so all of the officers were aboard the Falcon, including your mother. If not for you, the galaxy would have lost its last hope."

"Rey, you give me too much credit." Ben groaned, leaning into her touch. "You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you."

Rey leaned forward, kissing his trembling lips gently. "I know, Ben." She murmured tearfully. "I know."

Ben swept her up against him, putting all the longing and loneliness he had felt while they were apart into one searing kiss. She responded in kind, tangling her slim fingers in his raven locks and tugging him as close as possible. Ben could feel her love, like a bright ray of light, filling up his being until he wasn't sure where he began, and she ended.

But an abrupt disturbance in the Force shocked them back to reality. Still holding onto each other, they turned as one, both throwing out a hand to prevent the bolt of plasma fired by General Hux from striking them. He was bloody and disheveled, his eyes bright with rage.

"Why won't you just die, Ren?!" Hux screamed, firing his blaster again and again, only to have each shot cast off by the powerful Force-users in front of him.

Ben watched trepidatiously as fire rose behind the General, inching toward their position as it consumed specks of fuel and fragments of debris along the way. As soon as the fire reached the coaxium reserves stored on the other side of the dock, he knew the Star Destroyer would be toast.

"We're going now. If you want to live, don't try to stop us." Ben said firmly, shifting Rey towards the X-wing. "And my name is Ben Solo. If you make it out of this, remember that."

"No! You can't get away! I won't let—ahh!" Hux yelled as his cloak caught fire, dropping his weapon to try and extinguish the flames.

Ben quickly scaled the side of Luke's ship while their enemy was distracted, pulling Rey up with him. Settling her smaller body in his lap, they worked together to close the cockpit and engage the starfighter's starting sequence in record time.

"We need as direct a route as possible to the Resistance, R2." Rey told the droid as she turned on the beacon strapped to her wrist and brought up the navigation screen. "Yes, that will work. Finn has the other half of the binary beacon, so you can follow the signal."

"Do they know I'm coming back with you?" Ben asked uncertainly.

"Yes, they do." Rey said soothingly. "It's going to be okay. Okay?"

"Okay. I trust you." Ben replied solemnly.

Rey turned her face to place a kiss against his chin. "Are you ready to go home then?"

Ben titled her chin up to kiss her properly, savoring the balance she brought to his once torn soul. "R2?" He called to the astromech droid. "Punch it."

-FIN-

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 **A/N** : I really wanted to do another fight scene since I had so much fun writing them in Finding You, and I think this little one-shot turned out well! Hope y'all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Until next time! Review!


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